


The Lean

by Brumeier



Series: Bite Sized Fic [32]
Category: Stargate Atlantis
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, First Kiss, First Meetings, M/M, Prompt Fill
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-24
Updated: 2016-02-24
Packaged: 2018-05-22 21:59:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,202
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6095317
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Brumeier/pseuds/Brumeier
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>LJ Comment Fic for Bookish prompt: <i>Any, any M/M pair, Boy Meets Boy</i></p><p>In which John crushes on Rodney, but none of his moves has the desired effect.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Lean

John had been perfecting his technique since the seventh grade. Robbie Speenburgh, an upperclassman who he’d always admired, had taken John under his wing. Robbie always had girls hanging all over him, and lots of guy friends, and John wanted to learn how to emulate Robbie’s coolness. 

By the time eleventh grade rolled around, John had the moves down pat. He gave up trying to tame the cowlicks, because the spiky hair helped him stand out and for some reason girls always wanted to touch it. He wore a lot of black, and had a sweet leather jacket that gave him a suggestion of bad-boy cred. Most importantly, though, he’d perfected the slouchy lean, the one that made him look both disinterested and – in his own mind, at least – sexy.

The lean worked great on girls, but John had his sights set in a slightly different direction. Namely, the new transfer student.

“Hey.” John leaned against the lockers, hands in his pockets. It was a little too warm for the leather jacket, but he was wearing it anyway. It was all part of the John Sheppard mystique.

The new kid – his name was Rick or Rod or something – turned, physics textbook in his hand, and gave John a once over. “No,” he said, turning back around to his locker.

Okay. Not the reaction he was expecting. “No?”

“No.” Rick-or-Rod slammed his locker door shut. “I’m not stupid enough to fall for this.”

And with that he stalked off down the hall.

*o*o*o*

Turned out the new guy’s name was Rodney. He was taking AP courses in math and science, and he seemed kind of surprised when he realized John was in there too. Which just meant that John’s slacker vibe was really working.

Rodney was good-looking, if a little thinner than the usual guys John was attracted to. His blonde hair was cut short and he had absolutely atrocious taste in clothes, but his eyes were really blue and his mouth had an interesting tilt to it. John may or may not have spent some time imagining what it would be like to kiss him.

John amped up the charm.

He slid into a chair at Rodney’s lunch table, which was populated by the nerdy Czech exchange student with the glasses and Miko, who wore such big glasses they dwarfed her whole face.

“Hey.” He slouched down in the chair, legs spread, and nodded at Rodney’s companions.

Miko flushed pink and hurriedly excused herself, but the exchange student stayed, clearly curious.

“Go away,” Rodney said without even looking up from his lunch tray. 

“Anyone ever tell you you’re not a people person?” John leaned back, letting his tight black t-shirt stretch over his chest.

“Yes. And they weren’t wrong. Go away.”

“I just thought you might like to –”

“I wouldn’t.” Rodney got up and left, taking his half-eaten lunch with him.

John sighed, and looked over at the exchange student. He had a wide grin on his face, and held out his hand across the table for John to shake.

“Radek Zelenka.”

“John Sheppard.”

“You try too hard.”

It was all John could do not to bang his head on the table.

*o*o*o*

Nothing John tried worked. Under other circumstances he might’ve just cut his losses and moved on, but there was something about Rodney that kept drawing him back. It certainly wasn’t his pleasant demeanor; Rodney was short and impatient with everyone, including teachers. John figured the only reason Radek kept hanging out with him was because his English wasn’t so great.

But Rodney was funny, too. And smart. He could out-science the AP teacher, and he was almost as good in math as John was. John just never felt the need to flaunt it, because nerds didn’t get any play. Not that he was getting any anyway.

John decided he might have more luck if he caught Rodney for some one-on-one time, with no interruptions for class. So he waited after school, lurking by the front doors, but Rodney never came out. When the only kids still there were doing baseball practice out on the back field, John figured he could either go home in defeat, or see if Rodney was still somewhere inside. He flipped a coin.

He found Rodney in the music room of all places, playing something complex on the piano. John stopped in the doorway to watch and listen. Rodney was good. Like, _really_ good. The way his fingers moved so dexterously over the keys made John’s skin flush hot.

“Not bad,” John said when Rodney stopped playing to write something down on the sheet music.

Rodney jumped, and turned on the piano bench to scowl at John. “What’s with you? Trying to give me a heart attack?”

“No.” John walked over and leaned against the piano.

“What do you want from me?” Rodney asked, sounding just a little desperate. “Why won’t you leave me alone?”

Which, wow. Made John sound like some kind of stalker or something. Maybe Radek was right. Maybe he’d been trying too hard.

“I just want to get to know you better,” John said with a shrug.

“Why?”

“Because you’re interesting.” That sounded lame, but it wasn’t like John could come right out and say he liked the way Rodney looked, old-man cardigans aside.

“Right. I’m supposed to believe that this isn’t some prank that you and the cool kids are pulling on me. Get me to like you, drop my guard, and then you pants me in the middle of the hallway or something.”

John straightened up, angry. “No! I wouldn’t do that to you, or anyone else! Why would you…did that happen to you at your old school?”

Rodney flushed and banged discordantly at the piano keys. “It doesn’t matter.”

John slid next to him on the piano bench, hip-checking Rodney to get him to move over. “Yes, it does.” He started picking out _Chopsticks_ , which was the only thing he knew how to play. 

“You’re really not pranking me?” Rodney asked tentatively.

“Really not, but I guess you’ll have to take my word on that.”

“Radek, he…uh. He thinks you like me.”

“He’s right.”

“Oh.” Rodney played an accompaniment to _Chopsticks_ that made it sound like a much better song. “Do you know Pi?”

“Yeah.”

“What’s the seventeenth decimal place?”

John gave Rodney a sidelong glance. “Three.”

The next thing he knew, Rodney was pressed up against him, kissing him breathless. If he’d known it was math that turned Rodney on, John would’ve gone there right off the bat and saved some time.

“I like you too,” Rodney said unnecessarily when they came up for air.

“So, you wanna come to my house and hang out?”

Rodney grinned, and wow. He really needed to do that more often. John leaned in for another kiss. Rodney was a really good kisser. He tasted like cinnamon gum.

“Yes. Let’s do that.” Rodney’s face was flushed, but not in a bad way this time. He grabbed the sheet music and stuffed it into his backpack. 

John grinned. He had a feeling the next time he used the lean on Rodney, he’d get very different results.

**Author's Note:**

>  **AN:** When I saw this prompt I immediately thought of my good friend smiles2go, who asked me for a teenage John fic that involved the lean. I figured it was a good fit. ::grins::


End file.
